The New York Times Connections puzzle for September 19, 2026, presents a sharp contrast between mid-century British fashion and the dry world of trigonometry. Puzzle number 1196, edited by Wyna Liu, requires players to pivot from the streets of 1960s London to the prefix of various everyday terms that hide mathematical origins.
Hints for Connections #1196
If you are looking for a nudge before the full solutions are revealed, consider these clues for each color group:
- Yellow: These words describe the process of increasing the range or size of a project or business.
- Green: Think of the standard elements found in a drawing made by a young child.
- Blue: This group is centered on the “Swinging London” cultural movement of the 1960s.
- Purple: Every word in this group begins with a three-letter abbreviation for a common mathematical function.
Additional Context for Today’s Grid
The difficulty in today’s purple group often stems from the term “Cos lettuce.” While American players may be more familiar with “Romaine,” Cos is the standard British term for this leafy green. Additionally, Carnaby Street in the blue group refers to the specific London pedestrian street that served as the global epicenter for fashion and lifestyle during the 1960s Mod era.
Spoiler Warning: The full answers and category titles for the September 19 puzzle are listed below.
Today’s Connections Answers
Yellow Group: Widen one’s scope
Branch out, Diversify, Expand, Grow
Green Group: Features of a kid’s drawing
House, Stick figure, Sun, Tree
Blue Group: Associated with swinging London in the 1960s
Carnaby Street, Miniskirt, Mod, Twiggy
Purple Group: Starting with abbreviated math functions
Cos lettuce, Log cabin, Sin City, Tan line
Answer Breakdown
The yellow and green groups are relatively straightforward, focusing on synonyms for expansion and common icons in amateur art. The difficulty spikes in the blue and purple categories. The blue group highlights 1960s icons like the supermodel Twiggy and the “Mod” subculture. The purple group is a classic Connections wordplay category; it uses the mathematical abbreviations for Cosine (Cos), Logarithm (Log), Sine (Sin), and Tangent (Tan) as the first three letters of unrelated phrases.
